Child Porn

If you like to keep your head in the sand then stop reading now.

I was so upset to read an article in today’s Denver Post:
Child-porn sentences too severe, judges say.

It’s about a group of judges who think the sentencing guidelines are too severe for possessing and viewing child-porn. My guess is that the victims and their families would disagree.

From what I read, the judges must not think child-porn is a big deal. It amazes me that these judges with their many degrees and lofty jobs act like idiots. Morality must be a foreign concept to them.

Here are some of the judge’s quotes and my comments:

"We do not see producers (of child porn) or the parents who sell their children or the stepfathers who attack them," Kane told the commission in October. "What we see are the men on dialysis confined to a wheelchair who spends all of his time confined already and no economic analysis of what it would cost to keep this man in prison."
U.S. District Judge John L. Kane

Is this guy for real? Is that really the only type of person who comes before his bench? What a shame that he would act like the child porn viewer is no threat – just sitting at home not hurting anyone.

Kane testified there is no empirical research referenced in the sentencing schemes to indicate whether long prison sentences will stop defendants from re-offending or help them overcome their compulsions by the time they get out of prison.

At least if they are in prison we know children are safe from them. Part of going to prison is punishment. If we can do something to help them “overcome their compulsions” that is great but a nice long prison sentence may help too.

"It is too often the case that a defendant appears to be a social misfit looking at dirty pictures in the privacy of his own home without any real prospect of touching or otherwise acting out as to any person," U.S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron of Oklahoma City said in her testimony to the commission. "As foul as child pornography is, I am unpersuaded by the suggestion that a direct link has been proven between viewing child porn and molesting children."
U.S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron

So all they are is “dirty pictures”? She speaks of “the privacy of his own home” in a way that makes me wonder is she thinks it is acceptable behavior. And how does she know that there isn’t “any real prospect of touching or otherwise acting out as to any person”. She must be a mystic as well. She goes on to say that she is “unpersuaded” that there is a link between viewing child-pornography and molesting children. Well I’m sure that not every viewer goes on to molest but has there ever been a molester who wasn’t a viewer first?

There was a sane voice in the article. Here is what Ernie Allen, president and chief executive of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said:

"There are too many judges who continue to provide token sentences for what we consider to be serious crimes," Allen said. "These are images of prepubescent children, growing numbers of them infants and toddlers, and they trade with each other for purposes of arousal and breaking down the inhibitions of other children."

Allen said educating the judiciary about the impact of child pornography on victims is key.

"We are not in favor of disproportionate sentencing or disparities, but the problem here is too many judges who simply do not recognize how serious these crimes are," he said.

Yes, these judges in their ivory towers don’t recognize how serious child-pornography is and where it leads. I hope God raises up a voice to silence their ignorant ramblings.

Another concern I have is that this liberalized attitude is the same one that preceded the mainstreaming of regular pornography and much of the sex industry.

May God have mercy on our country.

Philip

The Manhattan Declaration

The following is from The Manhattan Declaration. I have read the full document (about 7 pages) and signed it. Take a look for yourself. It is a solid document and worth our support.

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

   1. the sanctity of human life
   2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
   3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The Manhattan Declaration

Philip

Health Care Reform?

Funny video about ObamaCare.



Philip

Delight or Destruction

I was thinking about Psalm 1 this morning.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalms 1:1-6

Where do we walk, where do we stand and where do we sit? Who and what do we hang out with? Where do we find delight? Who do we fellowship with? What do we meditate on?

As I look at the contrast between hanging out with the wicked, the sinners and the scoffers versus delighting in the law of the Lord I think it is either one or the other. If we are delighting in God’s word we will not put ourselves in compromising situations. If we are enjoying the bad company then we won’t be in God’s word.

I know many people say we need to be engaged with unbelievers but I think the problem comes when the relationship switches from evangelism to a peer relationship. Scripture is clear in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that bad company corrupts good morals.

I don’t think is just speaks of people either. Television and movies are a great source of wickedness, sin and scoffing. It is the fool who thinks they can watch the latest and greatest Hollywood has to offer and not be changed for the worse.

An Eskimo fisherman came to town every Saturday afternoon. He always brought his two dogs with him. One was white and the other was black. He had taught them to fight on command. Every Saturday afternoon in the town square the people would gather and these two dogs would fight and the fisherman would take bets. On one Saturday, the black dog would win; another Saturday the white dog would win - but the fisherman always won! His friends began to ask him how he did it. He said, "I starve one and feed the other. The one I feed always wins because he is stronger.
From "The Holy Spirit: Activating God's Power in Your Life," by Billy Graham (1978)

The benefit of hanging out in God’s word is clear. There will be good fruit, endurance and prosperity. The choice should be easy yet the call of the world and its delights is loud and unending. Only one is going to win.

Philip

Sexually Transmitted Infections on the Rise

From CitizenLink:

Sexually transmitted infections continue to rise, with the number of chlamydia cases setting another record in 2008, government officials said Monday.

There were 1.2 million new cases of chlamydia last year, The Associated Press reported, up from 1.1 million cases in 2007. Syphilis also has been increasing, with 13,500 cases of the most contagious form reported in 2008.

Dr. Miriam Grossman, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and author, noted the diseases are spreading quickly among teenagers.

"If you look closely at what young people are being taught about sexuality," she said, "you will discover that it is being assumed that they will have sex at an early age and that they will have multiple partners."

There are an estimated 19 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections annually. Experts say the most common is human papillomavirus (HPV).

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Learn the myths and the truth about abstinence education.
Check out Dr. Grossman's book You're Teaching My Child What?


— Josh Montez

The Truth About My Sin

I read this in my devotions this morning. It’s from the book Whiter Than Snow.

The Bible requires each of us to accept, at the most practical of levels, that we have profound moral flaws within us that we can do absolutely nothing in ourselves to solve. 

Self-help doesn’t work. Here is the solution as I see it:

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  Hebrews 4:16

Philip

Elf Yourself

It's never too early to start this...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Lovers of Death

All who hate me love death.
Proverbs 8:36

Representative Diana DeGette in an email I received some weeks ago sent assurances that the ObamaCare bill would not cover abortion. Now I see she is furious that the bill passed the House with the Stupak-Pitts amendment that insures it won’t cover abortion.

It’s clear that she is both a liar and a lover of death. It’s not health care she is primarily concerned about but the expansion of abortion.

DeGette has also been insatiable in her promotion of Human Embryonic Stem Cell research. This despite the fact that embryonic stem cells show very little promise, have many problems and kill a little baby. Induced pluripotent stem cells (not from embryos) are where the action is. She acts as if they don’t exist and ignores the true science in their favor. Maybe it’s because no one has to die to acquire them.

Pray for leaders like Diana DeGette. Proverbs 21:1 says: The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. Thank God she isn’t a king! Nevertheless, the principle applies; God can turn her heart and work through her despite her love of death.

For interesting information on the truth about Stem Cell research, see StemCellResearch.org

Philip

Prayer

In the book A Praying Life, Paul Miller wrote that sometimes we don't pray because we want to be in control and sometimes we don't pray because we think we can't be in control: "But the point of prayer is shifting control to God." Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.

I believe in prayer. Every weekday morning I pray for family, friends and even some people I don’t know like the “homeless sign” guy on the corner near our house.

I added a friend last night; Randy has been diagnosed with Lymphoma. I will carry a burden for my friend during this difficult time.

Another thing I pray about is our political leaders. I use a verse out of Proverbs 21:1 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. I pray for God to surprise our leaders by having them do things they didn’t plan to do.

Prayer is mysterious. Isn’t it awesome that the God of the universe beckons us to ask Him for things. What if we neglect prayer? Are there good things that will be left undone and bad things that will come to pass?

I always hope that people are praying for my family and me.

Philip

Medical Marijuana Quacks

In the newspaper recently, there has been a lot of coverage on the doctors who are signing applications for “patients” who want legal pot in the Denver area.

I wasn’t surprised Sunday when I saw the name Dr. David Muller in a Denver Post article. Muller is a psychiatrist in the Cherry Creek North area.

Last year a friend of mine tried to commit suicide using prescription drugs. When his various prescription bottles were being collected, Dr. David Muller’s name appeared. There was another doctor represented who provided most of the drugs. My friend had become severely addicted to various drugs that were supposed to help with depression and sleep problems. Instead of helping, the drugs were destroying his mind and body. Any competent doctor would have noticed it if he cared.

I wonder if there is an underground where certain doctors lurk. They pass out prescription drugs to anyone willing to pay the fee and now are signing pot applications. I guess if you run in the right circles they are easy to find.

My friend wasn’t served well by his pill pushing doctors and the potheads aren’t either.

Philip

Pets and the Rapture

I think I’ve seen it all:

Christians who believe they will vanish from Earth in the rapture can now hire an atheist to care for their pets.

Eternal Earth-Bound Pets

What’s even stranger is they will probably get some customers.

Philip

Child Sex Trafficking

I went to a seminar last night on Sex Trafficking. It’s a subject I am not very familiar with so I wanted to learn more. What I know so far is that child sex traffic isn’t just something that goes on in other countries even though United States tourists are responsible for 25% of the child sex traffic business. It’s going on in our country and probably not far from our homes. It’s estimated that around 300,000 children are working as prostitutes in the United States. At the seminar, it was said that many of these children are kept in a cage in a basement.

I read an article in the newspaper last week about a nationwide crackdown by the FBI on child prostitution. Almost 700 people were arrested and 52 children were rescued. It went on to say that since the beginning of the project, almost 900 children have been rescued and most of them began prostitution around age 12.

That should knock us out of our chairs. How can we not be moved? With what little I know about this subject so far, I know I must learn more and that some kind of action will be required. Prayer will be first and then those prayers will need feet.

I was left feeling empty last night after the event. I expected to be educated and then given some tools. The education came but I felt the message fell short of what it could have been. As I heard it, the call was for us to become completely dedicated to Jesus, for fathers to be fathers, and to lift up God in worship. Then righteousness and justice will come down and problems like child sex trafficking, abortion and idolatry will be taken care of.

I don’t disagree with the need for changes in our lives and churches. I know we are far from what we should be.

I have been involved in leadership in the prolife movement for over twenty years. I have done my share of trying to motivate people and pastors to involvement. I have heard just about every argument of what we should or should not do to combat abortion. Some say all we should do is pray and God will do the rest. Some back certain laws and others say that Christians shouldn’t be involved in politics. Some say we should establish more pregnancy centers to provide compassion and support for abortion minded women. Some say education is the key. Some support direct action such as picketing and sidewalk counseling and others say that is too confrontational. And sadly most sit on their butt while providing criticism of those who are trying to do something.

I have always supported a multi-faceted approach. We need to work on every front. We need laws, we need education, we need pregnancy centers, we need protest and we need prayer. There is a spot for everyone to get involved.

So that is why I was disappointed last night. Every day I seek to be pure before God and I know I need to be a better father but I know I can’t stop there. If there are young boys and girls in my community who are being held captive in some way and are being sold for sex they need help now. I want to know what God wants me to do. I now have knowledge and I will be held accountable for what I do with it.

I don’t know the answers; I don’t even know the questions but I’m praying for revelation of what to do from here.

Here is a link to the newspaper article mentioned above.

Here is a link to the FBI Innocence Lost National Initiative

Here is a link to Children of the Night

Philip